by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was written by bestselling author, Steve Perry. This Expanded Universe tale takes place during the Rebellion Era, 3 ABY (3 years after the battle of Yavin).
SUMMARY
Lando, Chewy, and Leia are on the search for Han Solo, who was taken by Boba Fett aboard his ship, Slave 1, after being frozen in carbonite! Lando calls on his old buddy, Dash Rendar to assist in the investigation.
Prince Xixor, leader of Black Sun, the largest criminal organization in the galaxy; wants the be the right hand man of Emperor Palpatine. However he faces one challenge, Darth Vader. Vader is responsible for the death of Xixor’s family; now, Xixor will do what he can to get his revenge.
The pieces of Emperor Palpatine’s puzzle are falling into place, the events taking place are aligned with his vision of things to come.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I did it, I made it through this book a second time, and I’ve got to say, I enjoyed it a little more than I did the first time. The elements of the story that I still don’t like are the pervy little things the author had thrown into the book. Such as the foreshadowing of Lando telling Leia not to get in bed with Black Sun. To have Xixor, a Falleen species that uses pheromones to manipulate others. It was gross reading Xixor’s attempt at seducing Leia… they even kiss!
I did enjoy that book, this multimedia project brought in new characters, ships, and other cool ties to the films. The author does a fine job showing us Luke constructing a new lightsaber while in Kenobi’s old hut on Tatooine. It was cool getting a story between two fantastic Star Wars films.
Perry did well establishing a solid motive for our new villain. The main reason Xixor hates Vader, is because years ago, Vader had a planet sterilized after a failed biological weapon incident. In order to protect the planet, the city around the lab was destroyed, killing Xixor’s family. Xixor was off planet when it happened. He managed to delete any record of his families death, to appear as though he had no emotional ties. It’s mentioned taht 200k Falleen had been killed.
Overall the story was decent, I still prefer the Nintendo 64 video game over the book, we see things from a different perspective in the game. The soundtrack to Shadows of the Empire is also pretty decent, hints of it can be heard in newer Star Wars material. At least, I hear some similarities, especially in the Rogue One soundtrack.
RATING
I will give Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire a B-.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor was written by bestselling author, Matthew Stover. This tale takes place during the Rebellion era on the Expanded Universe novel timeline, four years ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).
SUMMARY
Another crazy man steps up in an attempt to rule the galaxy! The New Republic faces off against a new enemy on the planet Mindor. The planet is violent, not only because of the war, but the planet – in the Taspan system, is breaking apart! The planet’s atmosphere is a mess of asteroids and meteor slinging all over the place.
Lord Shadowspawn, one name for the villain in this tale is obsessed with destruction and power. Luke Skywalker leads the charge to free hostages that were taken by Shadowspawns raiders. Many of which were either chosen to die, or join Shadowspawn. Much of the villains tactics are designed after popular holovids (what we would call movies).
Luke Skywalker faces one of his biggest challenges yet… guilt. His force ability reaches new heights, resulting to a situation that cannot be undone. The New Republic must act fast as they race against the clock, before the world of Mindor, is utterly destroyed.
Or… did any of the things in this story actually happen… or is this a story within a story about the legendary heroes of the New Republic… It’s hard to tell.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought, “this is gonna be a chore to get through.” That’s right, I judged a book by its cover without knowing a thing about it. Yet, I didn’t let the cover hold me back forever, (I let the paper do the talking).
This book starts off with a bang, it’s fast paced, explosive action, and gritty. My impression of the opening chapters, was that this story is the punk rock of Star Wars. It’s loaded with weirdness, some of it is interesting, while most of it… is not. A theme that runs throughout this book, is that nothing is as it seems.
The characters felt so different than what they should be. The dialogue is a mess, characters cut each other off so much in this book. mid sentence. Everyone is talking back to each other, there’s far too much sarcasm, and witty comebacks… it got annoying.
Stover does a fine job with descriptions… to a point, sometimes the details are so elaborate, it drags out and gets boring, even to the point of forgetting what’s happening in the moment.
I do like the way that Stover explained some of the traits of Vader and Palpatine. Palpatine had a lust for power in the force, he had a knowledge of its power, he was steeped in its lore; but still trying to have the force bend to his own will. Vader on the other hand, was a pawn, using the force in the most shallow ways, as a machine absorbs fuel to operate.
However, what drives me crazy, is when authors attempt to undermine the credibility or weight of characters or actions that have already been established, especially from the films. In this story, Stover attempts to make the villain of this story, far superior than Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. The villain is revealed to be the actual puppet master over the Empire. He was the mastermind behind Palpatine’s demise. I find this character development ridiculous.
Do I recommend that you read this tale? I have to say, no. I had a few interesting moments, but not worth the time.
RATING
I give Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, a D (0.5/5)
